lamdha books -
Catalogue of books on fish and fishing

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204858 Coleman, Neville Australian Sea Fishes - two volumes North of 30 degrees S. & South of 30 degrees S. Doubleday Australia, Lane Cove, 1981 & 1983. Two quarto hardcovers orange and red boards with silver gilt spine titling and map endpapers; 297 + 302pp., colour illustrations. Faint spotting to upper text block edge and sunned dustwrapper spines. Minor wear otherwise; near fine and wrappers now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Click here to order $40

90735 Ransome, Arthur Rod and Line together with Aksakov on Fishing Jonathan Cape Ltd., London, 1947. Reprint. Octavo; hardcover; 286pp. Mild wear; slightly cocked; a mild chip to the fore-edge of the upper board; some softening to the spine extremities; text block edges toned with some spotting and top edge dusted; offset to the endpapers; previous owner's ink inscription to the flyleaf. Dustwrapper well rubbed and sunned along the spine panel; a tear along the lower hinge; some chips from the upper ends of both flap-turns. Very good with wrapper now covered in archival film and white paper backing. Collection of articles by the famed author of the Swallows and Amazons series distinguished by the the same quality of vividness and truth. Ransome himself was a passionate fisherman ("and no one ever became a genuine angler in old age who was not one in youth"), and this is one of the best books on the pleasures of the sport: "it is true that the fisherman watches every kind of fish with ecstasy and a joyful throbbing of the heart". Click here to order $35

48204 Roughley, T.C. Fish and Fisheries of Australia Angus & Robertson,Sydney, 1961. Revised and enlarged edition. Quarto hardcover; green boards with gilt spine titling and map endpapers; xv + 343pp. with 60 colour plates and 21 plates in black and white. Minor wear; foxing to endpapers, prelims and title page with browning and mild spotting to text block edges. Tears and tape stains to lower rear panel of dustwrapper; tiny missing segments on extremities of spine panel and some tiny chips especially at corners. Good to very good with wrapper now protected in archival film and white paper backing. Click here to order $30

70855 Scholes, David Trout and Trouting Photography by Peter Whyte Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst, 1993. Small quarto hardcover, 88pp., monochrome illustrations. A few bumps on board edges and corners, and light spotting to text block edges. Very good to near fine in like dustwrapper. Australia's veteran angler here discusses fly fishing technique, philosophy, a love of nature and anecdotal trout tales: everything from the anatomy and lifestyle of the trout to the beliefs of Izaac Walton. Click here to order $35

72188 Sloane, Rob Fly Fishing Fundamentals: An Introduction to Fly Fishing for Trout Fly Life Publishing, Richmond, 1998. Small quarto hardcover; illustrated boards with white upper board and spine titling; 142pp., monochrome illustrations. Owner's name stamp. Mild scuffing to cover. Very good to near fine. Excellent introduction to fly fishing from the editor of FlyLife magazine. Easy question and answer format, clear diagrams and photos. Covers tackle, casting, trout foods, flies, techniques, streams, lakes and etiquette. Click here to order $25

76945 Taverner, Eric, et al. Salmon Fishing: Lonsdale Library Volume 10 with Three Hundred & Seven Illustrations Seeley, Service & Co., London, 1958. Reprint: octavo; hardcover, quarter-bound in cloth boards with endpaper maps and gilt upper board decoration and spine-titling; 480pp. [i-viiipp.; 1-472pp.], top edge dyed grey, with a full-colour frontispiece and tissue guard, two colour plates, 65pp. of monochrome photographic plates, and many line drawings and illustrations. Slightly shaken; both joints starting but still strong; board corners lightly bumped; board top edges sunned and lightly stained; very faint scattered foxing to the preliminaries; text block edges toned and lightly spotted. Price-clipped dustwrapper with full-colour tipped-in illustrations, well-rubbed with mild chipping at the spine panel extremities and the flap-turns; sunned along the spine panel; now backed with archival-quality white paper and professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. "A first rate encyclopedia of Salmon Fishing. A book of great value to all apprentices to the art and one that will provide material for unending argument among their masters." "Mr Taverner has risen triumphantly to the occasion and I am filled with admiration for his efforts. These chapters can be read and re-read with profit by even the most skilful and experienced angler." "A herculean task. A most valuable and timely addition to angling literature." "Every one of the the fraternity of salmon fishers will have to read this imposing book." (from the dustwrapper.) Click here to order $45

76946 Taverner, Eric, G. Herbert Nall & Alban Bacon Trout Fishing from All Angles: Lonsdale Library Volume 11 with a Chapter on Trout Scales & the Legal Aspect of Fishing; with Two Hundred & Fifty Illustrations Seeley, Service & Co., London, 1950. Octavo; quarter-bound in cloth boards with gilt upper board decoration and spine-title; 448pp., top edge dyed grey, with a monochrome photographic frontispiece, 49pp. of plates likewise, and many line drawings and illustrations. Very slightly rolled; mild offset and spotting to the preliminaries; bottom board corners lightly bumped; slight softening to the spine extremities; text block edges toned. Well-rubbed dustwrapper with tipped-in photographic illustrations chipped at spine panel head but with no loss to title; spine panel sunned and water stained; small chips to the flap turns; now backed by archival-quality white paper and professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. "Mr. Taverner's book, is a little likely to make the man who has been catching trout all his life wonder if he will ever catch another. The whole business as explained with this elaboration sounds beyond the range of Ordinary skill. Yet, as we know, trout - thank God ! - can be caught; and there are certain conditions when trout, though difficult to catch, are catchable, and Mr. Taverner helps you there. All his tips about casting so that only the "gut reaches the water", or casting across weeds, are well worth remembering. There is also a vast deal of entomology - hints on fly tying, consideration of what can be learned by studying a trout's scales, and, in short (or in long), all the relevant scientific discussion; to which is appended no less a novelty than a treatise on the law as bearing on angling. Mr. Bacon, who writes it, has one important thing to say: keep out of court at almost any cost, or you may end by finding your case in the House of Lords. Fishing titles have a delightful complexity. It would be hard to hope for anything more complete than this monumental work; and it must not be left without recognizing that Mr. Taverner knows intimately the literature of his subject, and, able to write with charm himself, feels the extraordinary charm that pervades what has been written on this fascinating theme. " - The Spectator. Click here to order $50

202968 Tenison-Woods, Rev. J.E. Fish and Fisheries of New South Wales Thomas Richards Govt. Printer, Sydney NSW, 1882. Royal octavo; hardcover, half-bound in morocco with marbled boards and endpapers, with gilt spine titles between five raised bands with gilt decorations ; 231pp. [2 Blank + 2pp. (title page and verso) + i-xipp. + 1 Blank + 1-213pp. + 3 Blank], marbled edges, with a monochrome photographic frontispiece ("An 'Old Man' Schnapper"), 45 plates likewise and one monochrome woodcut illustration. Moderate wear; boards and edges rubbed; some mild scuffing to the spine; some moisture damage to the flyleaf; mild scattered foxing to the preliminaries; previous owner's ink inscription to the first blank page; creasing to page 23. Very good. The Reverend Tenison-Woods wrote several books about New South Wales during his time there, specifically about the terrain and the possibilities for cultivation and agriculture. With this work, he cast his geographer's cap aside and took a more sporting view of the potential offered by the Australian environment. "Fish and Fisheries of New South Wales" is an overview of all the known species of fish, both coastal and riverine, to be found in the (then) new colony. Alongside their written taxonomical descriptions, each species is depicted by its own black-and-white photogravure plate. This copy of the work was previously owned by Sir Joseph Palmer Abbott, the distinguished Australian politician and solicitor. Click here to order $300